Friday, 22 June 2012

Scotland shouldn't be complacent about golf tourism

Scotland must avoid "complacency" in its expectations of the 2014 Ryder Cup, the head of the country's leading golf industry body has said.

Lee Derrick, head of Golf Tourism Scotland (GTS), warned against seeing the prestigious international tournament as a "golden goose" for Scottish tourism, and urged the industry to "get creative" to boost the sector. "A lot of people think that saying we are 'the home of golf' is enough to sell the country. It isn't. We should be doing a lot more at consumer shows and European tour events, for example. We need to grasp the nettle rather than do silly campaigns that only result in a lot of data about how many people intend to come to Scotland."

The remark will be seen as a veiled criticism of VisitScotland's Drive It Home golf challenge, a marketing campaign criticised by many in the industry for alleged lack of market knowledge of the booking habits of potential golf tourists.

GTS is holding an industry summit at the Marriott Dalmahoy outside Edinburgh in July to encourage the Scottish golf sector to capitalise on the "exceptional" run of upcoming major tournaments, including the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, and The Open Championships at Muirfield in 2013 and St Andrews in 2015.
Derrick said GTS hopes to enrol Trump International as a member: "Trump has built a visually spectacular course that has put the northeast on the golfing map."

Asked if he agreed with Trump's campaign against wind turbines, he said: "If turbines are in your eyeline when playing a particular shot then, yes, I would be miffed about it but whether it will stop people coming remains to be seen.

"Donald Trump is an extremely smart guy. People are talking about his challenge to the Scottish Government and TV shows are cutting to shots of his [Menie] course. I don't think he's spent a penny on marketing yet."